Again and again, a shocking reminder. Face to face, we’ve never been blinder.
An eight-armed primate, poised as a Hindu deity. Dressed in suit, with a crown of thorns, an anthropomorphic brute wielding a skull, a knife, an inverted cross, a gun, and justice. The world is slowly being flooded by a second deluge; fish and birds roam freely about the ruins and carcass of mankind. Religious zeal and shallow faith in technology, our end. It is quite clear what AZURE EMOTE’s feelings toward their fellow humanity are. Chronicles Of An Aging Mammal is the first and so far only release from this obscure brain child of one Mike Hrubovcak, vocalist of death metal monsters like VILE and MONSTROSITY among others, now completed as a trio.
A cinematic explosion of apocalyptic metal, brutal grindcore, symphonic death and black metal, industrial noise and ambience, trip-hop, weird samples; you are as easily dragged into this chaotic flurry of noises and genres as you are thrown out of it, and you will never know what hit you or understand what actually happened. The chaos of an Abigor drenched in trippy electronica; the sedative melancholy of oceanic trip-hop metal akin to KorovaKill, or perhaps a coastal Lux Occulta. The drummer from RUMPELSTILTSKIN GRINDER adds a persuasive layer of, well, brutalized deathgrind. Vocals ranging from pig-styled squeals and morbid death-grunts to the wonderfully soothing yet dissonant jazz and operatic goth of TODESBONDEN’s Laurie Ann Haus to reversed chants and samples. Mostly grunts and growls though. A wooden flute haunting “Cosmic Tear”, beautiful as nothing else. Disturbing synths reminiscent of early id Software/Raven FPS. No track sounds the same. Too many elements to mention, quite often too many to handle in one listening session; rarely have I begun listening to the opening tubular bells and actually reached the sampled screams of Laura Palmer in the harrowing sadness and mystery of the aptly titled “Dementia” within an hour.
On one side, a misanthropic hatred and aloof contempt for a mankind killing itself and its world – “Clarity Thru Apathy”, “Complex 25”, “Justified End”, “Submerged”, “Misanthropic Disgust”. On the other, a saddened melancholy mourning what the other side loathes – “Cosmic Tear”, “Procreation Abnegation”, “March Of Chemical Pessimism”, “Dementia”. A tornado of scintillating effects and multifaceted emotions. The results of one deranged and overly ambitious bastard, clearly extremely talented and seriously creative, with an army of guest musicians – seven heads for seven instruments* – and way too much time in the studio – three years in the making. A masterpiece to some, scrambled ape-shit to others. Take your stance – I sure haven’t taken mine. Into strange metal? Then this is for you.
(*Schematics on guest musicians: two vocalists, three drummers, two guitarists, two bassists, one keyboardist, one flautist, counting members from twelve bands. And again, seven musicians. Plus Mike Hrubovcak who is responsible for everything, from composition and arrangement to layout and theme to electronics, instruments and vocals.)
-aVoid
VITALS:
Release: July 7th, 2007
Label: Epidemie Records
Avantgenre: Experimental Electro Death
Duration: 47:08
Origin: USA
Official site: http://www.azureemote.com/
Review online since: 15.08.2008 / 18:10:00
| TRACKLIST:
1. Clarity Thru Apathy |
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